SD-26140- RESEARCH ENGINEER — GEOSPATIAL SOFTWARE, GEOAI AND DIGITAL TWINS FOR SUSTAINABLE TERRITORIES

Fixed term contract | Belvaux | 36 Months

Are you passionate about research? So are we! Come and join us

The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a leading Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) that drives innovation for the economy and society in Luxembourg and beyond. With cutting-edge expertise in Natural, Built, Industrial environments, Space, AI, Security and defence technologies. LIST bridges scientific excellence and applied research to design solutions that address real-world challenges and create positive impact.

Do you want to know more about LIST? Check our website: https://www.list.lu/

How will you contribute?

Within LIST’s Sustainable Urban and Built Environment (SUBE) group, this position focuses on geospatial technologies for sustainable, climate-neutral and resilient built and natural environments. You will design and develop reusable geospatial software and analytics for a digital twin platform supporting European research and innovation projects. You will combine spatial data engineering, analytics, 2D/3D visualisation and GeoAI to turn heterogeneous data and models into interoperable services and decision-support applications for cities, regions and environmental systems.

Working with researchers, software engineers and domain experts across LIST and European partners, you will explore pragmatic AI-assisted and agentic workflows for discovering, combining and interpreting trusted geospatial data, models and services, with appropriate human oversight, validation, provenance and explainability. You will translate research concepts into robust prototypes and reusable solutions demonstrated with European cities and regions.

Describe the main responsibilities of the position.

• Designing, developing, testing and documenting reusable components for geospatial digital twins and decision-support applications.

• Building reproducible pipelines for large, heterogeneous and spatio-temporal datasets, integrating data, models and services through OGC APIs, SensorThings API, STAC, 3D Tiles, CityGML/CityJSON and related standards.

• Developing APIs, microservices and interactive 2D/3D geospatial applications.

• Implementing spatial analytics, simulation and GeoAI for urban, mobility, energy, climate and environmental applications.

• Prototyping AI-assisted interfaces and workflow orchestration for accessing and combining geospatial data, models and services.

• Applying sound software-engineering practices, including testing, version control, containerisation, continuous integration and documentation, while translating user and partner needs into reusable technical solutions.

Is Your profile described below? Are you our future colleague? Apply now!

Education

Master’s degree in geoinformatics, computer science, software engineering, geography, data science or a related discipline. 

Essential qualifications

• Relevant experience in geospatial software development, spatial data engineering or applied GeoAI gained through professional work, research projects, open-source contributions or substantial thesis work. Candidates at an earlier career stage with a strong technical portfolio are encouraged to apply.

• Strong practical programming skills in Python.

• Experience with geospatial data processing and spatial databases, for example GDAL, GeoPandas, PostGIS, QGIS or GRASS GIS.

• Experience developing APIs or web-based software and working with Git.

• Understanding of good software-engineering practices, including testing, documentation and maintainable code.

• Ability to communicate effectively in English and work in multidisciplinary teams. 

Desirable qualifications

• JavaScript/TypeScript, preferably with Vue.js, Node.js and modern web-mapping technologies such as OpenLayers or CesiumJS.

• Docker, CI/CD, Kubernetes, cloud or HPC environments.

• OGC APIs, STAC, SensorThings API and related open geospatial standards.

• 3D Tiles, CityGML/CityJSON, IFC/BIM or other advanced 3D geospatial standards.

• Machine learning, deep learning, computer vision or geospatial foundation models.

• Experience or demonstrated interest in LLM applications, AI-assisted access to trusted data, tool calling or agent-based workflows, ideally with attention to evaluation, explainability, provenance and human oversight; familiarity with MCP or A2A is welcome.

• Contributions to open-source projects, research software or technical publications.

You do not need to meet every desirable criterion. We value strong fundamentals, curiosity, evidence of building reliable solutions and the ability to learn across disciplines.

Language skills

• Excellent written and spoken English is required; Luxembourgish, French, German or another European language is an asset.

Your LIST benefits

• An organization with a passion for impact and strong RDI partnerships in Luxembourg and Europe that works on responsible and independent research projects

• Sustainable by design, empowering our belief that we play an essential role in paving the way to a green society

• Innovative infrastructures and exceptional labs occupying more than 5,000 square metres, including innovations in all that we do

• An environment encouraging curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurship in all areas

• Personalized learning programme to foster our staff’s soft and technical skills

• Multicultural and international work environment with more than 60 nationalities represented in our workforce

• Diverse and inclusive work environment empowering our people to fulfil their personal and professional ambition

• Gender-friendly environment with multiple actions to attract, develop and retain women in science

• 32 days’ paid annual leave, 11 public holidays, 13-month salary, statutory health insurance

• Flexible working hours, home working policy (not remote) and access to Digital lunch vouchers

Apply online

Your application must include:

• A CV with contact details and a motivation letter tailored to the position.

• Selected publications, software projects, open-source contributions, technical demonstrators or patents, where applicable; links to GitHub/GitLab or a technical portfolio are welcome but optional.

• Contact details for two references.

Please apply ONLINE formally through the HR system. Applications by email will not be considered.

Application procedure and conditions

We kindly request applicants to provide their nationality for statistical purposes only, as part of our commitment to promoting diversity and ensuring equal opportunities in our workforce. This information will be kept confidential and will not be used for any discriminatory purposes.

LIST is dedicated to maintaining an inclusive work environment and is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to attracting, hiring, and retaining a diverse workforce. All applicants will be considered for employment without discrimination based on national origin, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, religion, age, or disability.

Applications will be continuously reviewed until the position is filled. An assessment committee will thoroughly evaluate applications, adhering to guidelines designed to ensure equal opportunities. The primary criteria for selection will be the alignment of the applicant's existing skills and expertise with the requirements mentioned above.

This position offers a gross monthly salary between €6724 and €8176, paid over 13 months (€87412–€106288 annually) based on full-time employment. The final salary offer within this range will be determined based on the candidate's overall profile, qualifications and professional experience.

It is to be noted that LIST also offers real opportunities for career growth, both in terms of responsibilities and salary progression, as employees develop within LIST